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Carol Schultz:
If you can get really good at learning—if you can learn how to learn, and learn how to learn fast—then you have a real edge.
Welcome to the Authentically Successful Show, an entrepreneurship podcast delivering real stories and advice from successful founders and CEOs across industries. I’m your host, Carol Schultz, a professional recruiter, executive coach, thought leader, and creator of talent-centric organizations.
Enjoy the show.
Carol Schultz:
This is Authentically Successful. I’m Carol Schultz. Joining me today is John Cousins—an investor, tech founder, and best-selling author of Understanding Corporate Finance and over 50 other books.
John is the founder of MBA ASAP, an ed-tech company providing training to individuals and corporations, including Adidas, Apple, General Mills, and Kaiser Permanente. He’s taught MBA students worldwide and is currently a general partner at Track Global Quantitative Hedge Fund.
John, I’m really glad to have you with me today. You’ve got such an interesting background, and I’m excited for our conversation.
John Cousins:
Thank you, Carol! It’s great to be here.
Carol Schultz:
Let’s start with your journey. You’ve got undergraduate degrees from MIT and Boston University, plus an MBA in Finance from Wharton. Walk me through your path from school to where you are today.
John Cousins:
Well, I’ll give you the short version!
I started studying mechanical engineering at Northeastern University in Boston. After a co-op job measuring metal bellows—basically sitting all day with weights and rulers—I realized engineering wasn’t for me. So, I transferred to Boston University to study English literature. I thought I’d sit under a tree, read great books, and ponder life.
But that didn’t last long. I landed a job at ARP Instruments, a company making electronic music synthesizers. Back then, ARP and Moog were everywhere—Pete Townshend, Stevie Wonder—you name it. That job sparked my passion for electronics.
From there, I took evening courses at MIT to understand solid-state electronics and earned my degree in electronics. I eventually ended up working in rock-and-roll recording studios in New York City, then transitioned to Ampex and ABC Television, where I designed studios for global events like the Olympics and World Series.
Carol Schultz:
And then you decided to get your MBA?
John Cousins:
Exactly. While working at ABC, I picked up their annual report—right after Capital Cities acquired them. I couldn’t make sense of the financials, so I thought, “I need to understand this.”
That led me to Wharton. It was a perfect fit for a numbers guy like me. Wharton was all about finance, case studies, and hard skills. It was a transformative experience.
Carol Schultz:
So you went from engineering to entrepreneurship. What sparked that shift?
John Cousins:
Honestly, necessity and frustration. When I moved to Albuquerque in 1990—far from the corporate world—I realized I had to create my own opportunities.
I founded several tech companies, took two public, and served as a CFO and CEO for 15 years. But I eventually grew tired of partners, investors, and the corporate grind. That’s when I became a solopreneur.
Carol Schultz:
That’s a big shift. Tell me about MBA ASAP—how did the idea come to you?
John Cousins:
While teaching finance and MBA courses, I noticed students struggling with overloaded textbooks—800 pages of theory but no practical applications. I thought, “Let’s simplify this.”
I started creating white papers, slide decks, and bite-sized courses. My goal was to teach the essentials of business and finance quickly and affordably. That became MBA ASAP.
With platforms like Udemy and Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), I could scale this globally. Today, I have over 30,000 students in 164 countries, and my books and courses make business education accessible to anyone.
Carol Schultz:
That’s incredible! What’s the key takeaway from your program?
John Cousins:
Three things:
1. Own a business – Ownership is key. If you work for someone else, you’ll never capture the full value of your efforts.
2. Invest in the stock market – Learn how to read financial statements and annual reports.
3. Invest in real estate – Build cash flow through income-producing properties.
These three pillars create multiple income streams, which is the foundation for financial independence.
Carol Schultz:
What’s your biggest advice for someone starting their financial journey?
John Cousins:
Start with financial literacy. Understand the basics:
• Get out of debt—especially consumer debt.
• Start a side hustle to create surplus income.
• Invest that income in appreciating assets: stocks and real estate.
Remember, it’s all about cash flow and making your money work for you.
Carol Schultz:
You’ve had an impressive journey, from tech founder to teacher to solopreneur. Looking back, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned?
John Cousins:
Trust yourself, trust your gut, and enjoy the process.
Mistakes will happen. Learn from them, course-correct, and keep moving forward.
Carol Schultz:
Fantastic advice. John, where can people learn more about you?
John Cousins:
Head to mba-asap.com. Sign up for my email list and check out my courses. You can also find my books on Amazon or my courses on Udemy. Just search “John Cousins” or “MBA ASAP.”
Carol Schultz:
Perfect. We’ll include all the links in the show notes.
John, this has been such a valuable conversation. Thanks for joining me today.
John Cousins:
Thank you, Carol. It’s been a pleasure.
Carol Schultz:
Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Authentically Successful Show. Don’t forget to follow, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.
If you’d like to be my next guest, check the episode description for details.
I’m Carol Schultz. Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time.
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